Scorpio's Lot (97 page)

‘I must say I’m impressed, given
your limitations to access,’ said Whittaker. ‘What do you make of these nine
sites, Tom? And what are your thoughts on the likely choices?’

‘Because we lack the final clue
to accurately locate points one, two and three on the star, I can only give you
an opinion with no hard evidence. To begin with, logic tells me a building or
structure is more feasible to hide a secret passageway than that of open land.
A site like the botanical gardens or the Pedley market is more vulnerable to
discovery, because of the sheer numbers of people who have walked these grounds
throughout the years.’

‘That’s a reasonable assessment,’
acknowledged Forbes.

‘I came to the conclusion the
Advertiser
and Regency Nightclub appear to be unlikely candidates, because both are
relatively new buildings when compared to other sites.’

‘I don’t quite understand,’
Gallagher said.

‘Both are large structures that
cover their respective sites entirely. Given the foundations required to
support these buildings, you’d think a passageway would have been unearthed
during excavations,’ I responded.

‘Makes sense,’ offered a further
detective.

‘My hunch suggests O’Riley’s, St
Patrick’s, the RSL or Broadbent Warehouse. All four establishments have been
around for decades where little or no disturbance to the land has transpired.
Sure there have been cosmetic facelifts and some rework carried out, but
primarily their basic structures have remained intact.’

‘Meaning any chance of stumbling
across some lost passageway has subsequently been placed on hold,’ offered
Marsh.

‘Precisely. Also bear in mind
these four sites are likely to contain a basement of some sort. So in other
words this short list conjures up more possibilities for the police to
investigate,’ I added for good measure.

I briefly touched on the
Advertiser’s
article regarding road reconstruction, changes to street names and the relocation
of some commercial premises. I explained this all occurred back in 1859, as a
result of a major drainage system being installed. I also mentioned our
suspicions with the underground in mind. Forbes appeared intrigued with our
concept, stating that it may have been purposely constructed to either pinpoint
or protect the passageways. I finally returned to the matter surrounding the
central star well. It undoubtedly deserved some further mileage.

‘I’m confident it’s only a matter
of time before the final clue is revealed,’ I encouraged.

‘Perhaps you’re right and my
guess is the answer is staring us right in the face. Give me a moment to study
these nine sites,’ said Forbes, looking at the whiteboard and scratching his
head to help the thought processes.

His team of detectives followed
suit, muttering amongst themselves as to the likely outcome. I couldn’t help
but think their evaluation was nothing short of a merry-go-round of hunches
that were based on preference and gut feel, rather than factual evidence. In
the end their hypothesis was nothing short of speculation that would yield no
true answer. Parnell and Doyle continued to play with the template, forever
moving the three-pointed star to a different location around the penciled
circle. I could see the frustration on their faces due to the multiple choices.
It was Forbes who let out a surprising call.

‘I will get you, Mr Piedpiper, if
it’s the last thing I do!’ he fumed with considerable vengeance.

This issue was eating at the
detective and I could sense there was an unrelenting determination to succeed
like no other preceding case. In his mind this wasn’t simply about compromise,
half-measures or better luck next time. No, Forbes had a strong will to triumph
over corruption and the consequences that Scorpio had brought to the local
community. The magnitude of the case was like no other with its senseless
murders, kidnappings and now the likelihood of further rival drug backlash. For
probably the first time I couldn’t help but admire Forbes’ genuine struggle to
succeed in this obscure and difficult case. I could only envisage that
drug-related crimes would be difficult to solve at the best of times, let alone
with the added pressures of national exposure this particular case had brought.

Forbes turned from the
whiteboard. ‘Mr Harrison, a great deal has transpired over the past few days,
which to some extent has indirectly assisted the constabulary. We have it on
good authority there’s been some reprisals within the drug fraternity. For
starters, the psychopath known as Brad Morgan, clearly responsible for the
Molly
Bloom
and Pedley Hill atrocities has been eliminated. Additionally, the
Scorpio supreme leader known as the Keeper was murdered the other night by a
rival drug syndicate. This act was purely in retaliation for the hill atrocity
and Scorpio’s disclosure of the Traffik organisation that led to the arrest of
four senior members.’

‘Will this bloodshed ever stop?’
I replied.

‘Well, it doesn’t stop there. We’ve
been further informed the leader of the Traffik syndicate, known as Indigo, is
about to arrive in Pedley for a showdown with the Piedpiper. Our source advises
he’s hell-bent on eliminating the regional head, so as a consequence we’re
gearing up for some anticipated violence, unless we can intervene beforehand.
Another disturbing report is the apparent selection of arsenal at his disposal,
supposedly comparable to that of a terrorist’s armory. So as you can see, Mr
Harrison, it’s just one surprise and challenge after another. You may begin to
appreciate our frustration in still not knowing the identity of the Piedpiper
and the whereabouts of these underground entrances.’

‘And I thought the worst of the
violence was behind us.’

‘It is therefore an
understatement to try and have this three-pointed star resolved as quickly as
possible.’

‘Agreed,’ I replied, looking at
my whiteboard notes.

‘With regards to your nine listed
sites, our immediate suspicion rests squarely with Broadbent Warehouse. We’ve
conducted two thorough investigations, including with a search warrant, but
unfortunately nothing has come to light. Like yourself, I must view this list
with an unbiased attitude and not be persuaded by instinct or preference. To
contradict myself, I must say that while Broadbent lacks proof it cannot be
ruled out.’

‘Ultimately only three sites can
be selected from the nine, but we do have one thing in our favour,’ I offered.

‘And what might that be?’ Forbes
pounced.

‘The three landmarks must be of
equal distance from each other. It’s therefore logical to assume that no three
sites running in clockwise or anticlockwise sequence could be deemed as being
entrance sites,’ I reasoned.

‘I don’t quite understand,’ said
Gallagher.

‘I do,’ declared Paul Marsh. ‘George
Franklin touched on that aspect at his computer shop. The three would-be sites
must each lie on a triangular corner.’

I continued to summarise. ‘Correct!
It’s simply a mathematical deduction. Look at the list on the whiteboard with
emphasis on their numbered site and the clockwise order of appearance. For
example, if you take the numbers one, two and three being O’Riley’s, the
Botanical Gardens and Harrison’s Caravan Park, it is physically impossible to
group this lot. You cannot expect this combination to be your answer because
they run in sequence with each other and could not possibly form the points of
a triangle. Therefore, by studying the likely combinations with sufficient
spacing between each triangular point, our mathematical answers can only be

‘A clever deduction!’ offered
Forbes in a further interruption.

Ignoring the detective’s
ill-timed intrusion I pressed on. ‘In theory, providing they are of equal
spacing, the combinations can only be one, four and seven or two, five and
eight or three, six and nine.’

Believing we had stumbled across
a vital clue, Forbes immediately grabbed his trusty black marker and commenced
writing down the three possible combinations.

Group 1          1 O’Riley’s Inn

4
The Advertiser

7 Regency
Nightclub

Group 2          2 Botanical
Gardens

5 RSL
Club

8 Broadbent
Warehouse

Group 3          3 Harrison’s
Caravan Park

6 St
Patrick’s Church

9 Pedley
Market

Nine men stared at the whiteboard
knowing, at least in theory, that one of these combinations held the key to the
subterranean passageways. But which group without the aid of the final clue?

Forbes broke the deafening
silence with a clever idea.

‘I need to speak to Brigit O’Neill,
who was taken to the underground via one of these entrances. Perhaps she can
throw a bit of light onto the puzzle. Where’s the telephone number for the O’Neill
residence?’

Forbes reached for the phone and
punched in the numbers, putting the call on loudspeaker for all to hear.

‘Detective Forbes here, Mrs O’Neill.
May I speak to Brigit?’

‘Certainly, one moment please,’
Helen responded.

‘Hello, Detective Forbes, how can
I help you?’

‘Forgive me, Brigit, for being
forceful, but I need you to cast your mind back to when you were abducted and
taken to the underground network. Can you describe the entrance you were taken
to?’

‘That’s rather difficult considering
I was blindfolded.’

‘Then what sounds or unusual
observation did you pick up on?’

‘Without realising I was actually
in Pedley, I could have sworn we were beside the ocean in the countryside,’
declared Brigit.

‘What makes you say that?’ asked
Forbes.

‘Well, I could hear the car
wheels coming to a halt on a gravel road with the sound of surf hitting against
some nearby rocks.’

‘What would you estimate the
distance to be between the car and the underground entrance?’

‘Probably around fifteen metres,’
Brigit responded.

‘Anything else?’

‘Yes, a mechanical sound which
turned out to be a door of some description being opened. I remember it quite
well because the mechanics seemed to groan as if the entrance was made of
something quite heavy like steel or rock. The same sound repeated itself when
the door was closed,’

‘Nothing further?’ prompted
Forbes.

‘No, I think that was about it.
If I do recall anything else you’re only a phone call away,’ said Brigit.

‘Thank you for your time,’ said
Forbes and hung up.

He turned to his audience and
declared, ‘Rocks beside the ocean and a sense of being out in the countryside.
Only two landmarks could possibly fit that description, Harrison’s Caravan Park
and the Botanical Gardens. So which is it?’

Again we fell into a preoccupied
state of mind to contemplate the possibilities. Silence dominated for around
the next two or three minutes, when suddenly Hamish came forth with a most
unusual request.

‘Do you have a dictionary by any
chance?’

‘What in the hell do you want
with a dictionary?’ bellowed Forbes.

‘I think I’ve stumbled across a
possible answer, but I need to clarify something first,’ he insisted with a
degree of excitement.

‘Yes, I’m sure we do. Could
someone retrieve one from the front desk?’ asked Forbes nonchalantly.

I wondered what Hamish was up to
as he enjoyed a flare for the theatrics and I hoped he wasn’t about to make a
fool of himself.

An Oxford dictionary was produced
and Hamish immediately started flicking through its contents for his apparent
confirmation. Dismissing the Irishman’s sudden interest in the hardcover book,
the constabulary continued to analyse the nine sites. It really had become
reminiscent of a lucky dip. Draw an answer and hope for the best. In my mind
this was certainly not the logical approach. We were simply going around in
circles where hope seemed to be the one last prospect.